20.
LYNN
I glanced over at the table as I walked through the kitchen and had to bite back a groan at what I saw there.
When my daughters first moved in with me permanently, we designated Saturdays as our fun day and Sundays for chores and getting ready for the upcoming week. On Saturdays, we ran some errands, but the kids got to choose where we ate lunch and then we’d buy a bunch of snacks to have movie night or game night. Sunday mornings were for sleeping in a little later than usual and a breakfast that usually included pancakes but always included bacon before we started tackling our household chores.
When my granddaughters came to live with me, it just seemed natural to start that habit again, although I’d learned during the first round of parenting that I shouldn’t leave all the laundry for the weekend, instead doing a load here and there throughout the week. I had also learned to keep the house picked up throughout the week instead of letting it all pile up until the weekend.
Unfortunately, good intentions didn’t get shit done, so I was usually scrambling on Sundays to get everything in order for the week ahead.
Luckily, the girls were old enough to help me out, but getting them to do it was like herding cats.
The clean laundry piled on the kitchen table was proof of that.
“Berklee! Brinlee! Strip your beds and bring everything to me, and then come fold your clothes!” I yelled before I walked into the laundry room with towels that I’d collected as I’d cleaned the bathrooms. When I didn’t hear anything from Berk and Brin, I yelled, “Now!”
“Coming!” they chorused from their rooms.
“Sure you are,” I muttered, knowing it was going to take more effort on my part to get them moving in the right direction.
Once I dumped another load of clean laundry on the table, mumbling to myself about how it was even possible for two girls to go through so many fucking clothes in seven days, I swapped the load from the washer into the dryer and started the load of towels.
“Fuck this. I’m hiring a housekeeper. Swear to God.”
I was just about to yell for the girls again when the doorbell played the latest tune the girls had programmed. I rolled my eyes when I realized it was one of the songs from their current favorite television show and then checked the monitor on the kitchen wall before I buzzed the exterior door open and then walked around the corner to wait for my guest to appear.
When Josh opened the door, I greeted him with, “If you’re not here to fold laundry, then I suggest you turn around and go home.”
“Put those girls to work,” Josh suggested as he followed me into the kitchen. He looked over at the table and burst out laughing before he said, “Maybe you should hire a housekeeper, man.”
“I’m gonna have to break down and do it,” I said as I got us each a bottle of water from the refrigerator. I slid one across the bar to him as he sat down on a stool, then leaned against the counter before I opened my bottle for a long drink. I recapped the bottle as I asked, “What brings you to laundry mountain?”
Josh smiled before he asked, “Did you forget we have a date today?”
“What?” I winced before I said, “Shit! I totally spaced on that.”
“We can reschedule. How about . . .”
“No. I know you’re eager to get the plans finalized so the work can start, so let’s knock it out today. I’m finished with everything but laundry, and the girls are going to help me with that whether they want to or not.”
“That’s going to be fun to watch.”
I flipped Josh off as I went to gather my reluctant helpers. On the way to their rooms, I tried to remember how old my daughters were when they took over their own laundry. I had a flashback of bedrooms with clothes on every surface and piled on the floor and winced.
I wasn’t looking forward to that drama again, so finding a housekeeper was definitely going on my to-do list for this week. I was going to put it at the very top.
◆◆◆
FARRAH
After a long shower and an even longer video chat with Lynn last night, I woke up later than usual this morning and then didn’t have the motivation to do much more than putter around my house, taking my time with my cleaning routine with plenty of coffee breaks that included one or two chapters of a book I’d borrowed from the library.
After lunch, I filled up my knock-off Stanley with iced tea and walked over to check the high tunnels and the greenhouses in preparation for all the work we had scheduled for tomorrow.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had that idea because almost everyone else was already there and working by the time I arrived.
“It’s about time you joined the land of the living!” Serana said cheerfully as I walked up next to her to look down at the clipboard in her hand.
“I just came over to see if anything needed watering and to start a few more seeds.”
“Meredith, Sheri, and Fallon are working on seeds. Moe, Fiona, and Cami are up-potting some seedlings so they can have more trays, and Zoey is working with Jodie and Shivon on special orders.”
“What can I get started on?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walking past the tunnel opening, and when I glanced over, I was surprised to see a man there. “Is that Carl?”
“It is. He was sitting on his porch earlier, and we harassed him until he came over to help us.”
“Wow.”
Carl had moved onto the property a few weeks ago when he was released from the hospital after being attacked at my friend Janis’ bakery. He had been asked by Janis’ boyfriend, Corey Forrester, Garvey’s twin brother, to watch over her while she was alone at the bakery. While he’d been doing that, Janis had been kidnapped and he’d been injured trying to stop it from happening.
Since then, his bruises had faded and his injured knee had almost healed, but the biggest change had come from the intense therapy he’d been receiving along with the support system he’d found here to help him deal with this alcoholism.
But even with all of that support and the friendship offered by all of us who lived here at The Flower Patch with him, he was still a loner who rarely left his house.
Until today.
“I want to go talk to him, but I’m afraid I’ll run him off,” I admitted.
“He seems to have reached some sort of turning point. I remember when I hit mine. Things got much easier after that.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say easier. More focused sounds better.” Sarcastically, I said, “I believe they refer to that as rock bottom.”
“Oh, honey, I hit rock bottom and then went and stole a shovel and a pickax so I could dig even deeper.”
“Well, I suppose I should get to work. I feel bad that everyone else is already in the zone and I just got here.”
“It is our day off, so taking a little time for yourself isn’t exactly a bad thing.”
“I’m going to work for a while and then see if Lynn’s up for some company this evening.”
“Company, huh?” Serana grinned before she asked, “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
“The girls will be there.”
“Won’t they have to go to bed at a decent hour since they have school tomorrow?”
“Yes, they will,” I said as I pulled my phone out. “I think I’ll text him right now and see if he wants some company.”
“You’re a heartless hag for flaunting the fact that you’re getting some.”
“I know, but I’ve never been one who could resist that pull.”
“Isn’t that why most of us are here?”
I was still chuckling as I put my phone up to my ear and walked toward the sprout house - the small building we used for edible plants, but when one of the girls answered the phone with tears in her voice, my laughter faded.
“What’s wrong?”
“Farrah?” the little girl asked.
“Is everything okay, sweetie? Where’s Pop?”
“He’s talking to the doctor. Berk got hurt, and we had to bring her to the emergency room.”
“Oh, no! Is Lanna there with you guys?”
“No. They took the babies out of town to see Kyle’s mom and dad.”
“Do you want me to come sit with you while you wait?” I asked.
Brinlee sniffled before she said, “Yes, please.”
“Let me find a ride, and I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?”
“Thanks, Farrah.”
“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked as she and Moe walked toward me..
“Can you drive me to the hospital? One of Lynn’s girls is injured, and I just . . .”
Without a second’s hesitation, Taylor pulled her keys out of her pocket and said, “Go.”
“I’ll call you when I know something.”
“I’m coming with you,” Moe said as she set down the stack of trays she was holding.
“Drive safely!” Taylor called out as Moe and I hurried toward the door. “Keep in touch, and let us know if we can do anything!”
◆◆◆
The drive to the hospital didn’t take long at all, and half an hour hadn’t passed before Moe and I walked through the ER entrance to find Lynn and the girls. The woman at the front desk wasn’t helpful at all, and even though I knew it was protocol, it still irritated me that she wouldn’t let us back until she talked to Lynn.
Luckily, it didn’t take very long at all before she reappeared with Brinlee next to her and opened the door for us to go back.
As soon as we cleared the door, Brin threw her arms around my waist for a tight hug and then did the same thing to Moe.
Moe, my grumpy friend who had a sarcastic comment for almost any situation, hugged Brinlee back before she wiped tears off her cheeks and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. I reached out and Brinlee put her hand in mine before she grabbed Moe’s with her other, and we followed the nurse down a long hall to find Lynn and Berklee.
“What happened, sweetheart?” I asked.
“Today is laundry day, so we were changing the sheets on our bed. Berk was trying to do a trick we saw in a funny video, but it didn’t work,” Brinlee said with tears in her voice.
“What kind of trick?” Moe asked.
“She put the sheet over her and then bounced for a minute before she did a front flip.” Brinlee’s voice hitched with tears before she continued, “But she got tangled up in the sheets and went sideways.”
“Oh, no.” I squeezed Brinlee’s hand and said, “She’s gonna be okay, honey.”
“I was supposed to do it first, but I chickened out,” Brin admitted in a whisper.
“Well, now you know what not to do, right?” Moe asked. When I glared at her, she winced and shrugged her shoulders before she added, “I mean, you shouldn’t try it at all, okay?”
Brinlee looked at Moe like she was nuts before she said, “I already figured that out.”
“Good! That’s good,” Moe said with an eager nod.
“Are they gonna call our caseworker and take us away from Pop?” Brinlee whispered. I looked down and saw the tears pooling in her eyes again before she said, “I don’t want to live somewhere else.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand that kids do wild things sometimes,” I said, hoping to reassure her but worried about that myself. I hated the fact that Brinlee even thought about the authorities stepping in but understood that she’d dealt with child services for such a long time that the fear may always be there. “They know your Pop takes good care of you and accidents happen.”
“Where will we go if they take us away?” Brinlee asked.
“Let’s not worry about shit we can’t control right now,” Moe suggested. “Why don’t you sit out here in the hall with me? I’ll teach you some deep breathing exercises that will help calm you down, and then we’ll make plans for what we can do to make Berklee feel better when she comes home.”
The nurse stopped in front of a closed door, and I recognized the man walking toward us from the other end of the hall just as she asked, “Would you like to go inside or wait out here?”
“I’ve got this one, you go check on that one,” Moe suggested as she pulled Brin toward some chairs just down the hall. “Tell her I said hello.”
I let go of Brinlee’s hand and slowly pushed the door open. When I peeked inside, I found Berklee laying in the bed with her arm clutched to her chest as Lynn held her other hand. His eyes lit up when he saw me, and she gave me a watery smile before her eyes fluttered closed.
Lynn looked down to make sure she was sleeping before he stood and walked around the bed to get to me.
“Brinlee answered your phone when I called, and I couldn’t stop myself from coming,” I explained.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lynn replied as he pulled me into his arms. “They gave her something to calm her down, and when I asked the nurse if I could have a dose, too, she just laughed at me.”
“I don’t have any drugs that will help, but I’ll hold your hand if you need me to.”
“I think that may work just as well.”